industrialdeafness.net

HAVE YOU GOT INDUSTRIAL DEAFNESS?

Do you suspect that you may have a noise induced hearing problem due to long periods of time of exposure at work? Have you been working in a high noise level environment and are now facing ear ailments? Are you hearing a constant nagging whistling or ringing sound in your ears or a plain case of slight or serious deafness? It is most likely that due to the exposure to high noise levels that you have developed a form of industrial deafness.

The deafness can last anything from up to a few hours after the exposure to a longer more permanent variation of symptoms.

In its lesser minor form the damage will be temporary but in its most serious cases the industrial deafness has known to be more permanent and the trauma to the hearing is life changing, such as when the ears are perforated or there is imminent deafness in both ears.

There are two major denominations of the damage noise induced deafness can belong to, the first is tinnitus and the second is acoustic shock syndrome. Where the former is involved with the nagging of a ringing sound constantly in the ears the latter involves damage in and around the ears.

Any level of industrial deafness can be caused by long exposure to high noise levels although the extent of the injury will be dependent on the length of exposure and the level of the noise which would be less than 90 decibels.

WHAT YOUR INDUSTRIAL DEAFNESS INVOLVES

Once you have had some diagnosis and are 100% sure that you have developed industrial deafness then you must assess all the possible contributing factors to how you may have got the hearing defects. Are you an avid music fan?  Play in a band? Go out raving a lot?  Are you over 60 and it is possible that it is just a symptom of aging or is it a genuine result of being exposed to high noise for long periods of time in any working environment.

Looking back over your work history and noting dates and lengths of time for which you were exposed to what levels of noise will be useful to help identify where it is possible that the industrial deafness began and developed.

Considering places of work and where it is most likely that you may have developed the hearing problem will help in your industrial deafness claim further on. Some places which are common place for causing hearing complaints are factories in particular textile manufacturing factories with all those industrial machines, building sites with various noisy tools and equipment , motorway and road repairing, mining, quarrying, engineering and construction environments, welding garages, and foundries. The list goes on and includes music studios, night clubs, bars, concerts, outdoor events and any other loud noisy working environment which can cause various levels of noise induced deafness when exposed to for long periods of time.

Your hearing problem may come in many forms if it is the tinnitus then it is most probable that it is the constant ringing or humming sound in one or both ears which is the root cause of the complaint. This can be extremely distracting for the sufferers to live with and can often lead to sufferers becoming depressed and anxious.

On the other hand there is the acoustic shock syndrome which has its own distinguishable symptoms which contain a number of ailments ranging from headaches and fatigue to anxiety, ear pain and general soreness of the ear and neck areas, hearing problems, numbness and tightening of the facial muscles, a feeling of pressure on the ears and feelings of vulnerability amongst sufferers. This can range in severity and length of symptoms being present in the sufferer and when twinned with tinnitus can form an unbearable, very uncomfortable condition for the sufferer.

It is vital to recognise where you have developed the deafness if you are thinking of pursuing an industrial deafness claim in the future and so as liability for your hearing damage can be rightfully established and whether  it was before or after the Noise at Work Regulations Act of 1989 was implemented, a year later in 1990. Also the levels of noise in the places of work are significant so for example, if you worked from 1987 to 2002 then part of your exposure would be before the noise levels were regulated and clamped down to 90decibels whereas before that came in to place it was acceptable for employers to expose workers to higher levels in some circumstances, so you may have been exposed to much higher levels of noise without being aware.

The clampdown on noise levels in the work place is under review with measures being put into place to limit the levels and the current 90decibel maximum level faces a challenge from the Health and Safety Executive. The HSE are challenging the 90decibel limit and want that level bought down to an 87 decibel maximum, in order to protect the million plus employers out there who they estimated are at risk of developing industrial deafness due to their work environment.

WHAT TO DO NEXT

Once you have established that you have industrial deafness you have a time period in which you must submit your industrial deafness claim. An expert will begin your claim and will assess all relevant losses and grievances caused by the noise induced hearing defect and the severity of it on your hearing.  It is important to provide all documents relating to your industrial deafness for the purpose of your claim and detail all tools and equipment used for the tasks that you undertook in the task. Many loud power tools can cause hearing defects at work particularly when not provided with enough protection for the ears whilst implementing the tools.

The onus to provide you with protection in your working environment is on your employer and where they knowingly allowed employers to use tools and equipment known to produce noise levels of 90decibels or over unprotected or with useless unsuitable protection then the liability of your industrial deafness lies on their shoulders.

This has become prominent in the number of growing industrial deafness claims coming forward from within the call centre industry. In many cases the complainants are reporting symptoms known to acoustic shock syndrome from sufferers who have developed the ear ailments as a direct result of having cheap unsuitable headphones provided by their employers. In 1991 this was regulated and headphones had to comply with placing noise limiters on headsets which when effective stopped conversations and shouting flowing through the headset if it was at higher levels than 118decibels. Some rogue traders did by all means act recklessly and did not adhere to the rule and continued providing their employers with cheap headsets and not the VOIP ones which were required. Hence these employers are directly liable and will face the wrath for their irresponsibility in the number of industrial deafness claims they are likely to see in the future from their staff.

Your industrial deafness claim will then progress depending on the complexity of your personal circumstances and the hearing ailments you have incurred. The liability of the cause of the industrial deafness may be questionable or denied by the employers in which case the decision makers will refer to as to whether your employer was acting within guidelines set by The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 and in accordance with 1989 Noise at Work Regulations Act and at what levels of noise was the employer deliberately allowing employees to work in.

If you used noisy power tools, equipment or machinery at work it will be useful to note for what time period you used the tools for so as to pin point the development of the industrial deafness.

Once you have made a claim and provided all the relevant details to your industrial deafness claim specialist they will assess your claim on medical grounds and give you an initial calculation of the amount of compensation which you may receive for your hearing injury which could range from anything starting at £4000 to £7000 which is for a claim where the claimant has a very minor, temporary, occasional hearing loss and or tinnitus up to £70 000 which is what a claimant can expect if they have developed complete severe hearing loss in both ears which can lead to speech defects and further complications to other senses and parts of the body and generally affects the sufferers whole life and well- being.

Industrial deafness is a noise induced permanent or temporary loss of hearing which can become apparent when one is exposed to high levels of noise over lengthy periods of time. The deafness can be unilateral where the damage is in one ear only or bilateral, in both ears and has two commonly reported forms: TINNITUS and/or ACOUSTIC SHOCK SYNDROME, and each has its own distinguishable symptoms.

Tinnitus derived from the Latin word for ringing is where the sufferer may experience a ringing or buzzing or a whistling, swishing sound in their ears, which to them may sound like it is coming from an outside source. The Tinnitus Association are happy to provide you with any information on tinnitus. The symptom will be prominent in sufferers who have been exposed to loud noise levels for a long amount of time for this to become permanent.

Acoustic Shock Syndrome is another form of industrial deafness, again caused by the bearer being exposed to high levels of noise, over 90dBs. This symptom is highly reported by workers in the music and night club industry and other causes can be gunshots, explosives or even loud shouting as is being seen in the high number industrial deafness claims from call centre staffs which have faced shouting from angry customers over a number of years.

Symptoms that have been reported in industrial deafness claims range from, anxiety, ear pain and facial numbness, through to headaches and hearing problems. Other symptoms of Acoustic Shock syndrome include fatigue, general soreness of the ears and neck area and even feelings of vulnerability.

Acoustic shock syndrome and its affects are becoming common in call centre staff who now account for a proportion of all industrial deafness claims. In 2001 the BBC conducted a report into and fell upon industrial deafness revealing that one BT call centre worker received £91 000 for a pay-out for a claim for the damage they had received to their hearing whilst working in a call centre. At the time in 2001, there were 83 other BT employers who had on going claims for industrial deafness.

Acoustic Shock Syndrome can be serious and can do irreparable damage to the ears such as perforated ears.

WORK PLACES AND TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT WHICH CAN CAUSE INDUSTRIAL DEAFNESS

Work places which are common to exposing employees to high levels of noise which can cause any forms of hearing problems include construction, engineering, factories, foundries, mining, quarrying, textile manufacturer, maintenance, road repair and the most common building. Although the majority of those who have noise induced damage to their hearing get it whilst involuntarily receiving it through employment it is common for such hearing ailments to be apparent in those of us who constantly hear loud music through ear phones or spend long periods of time in loud clubs or music studios etc.

The sorts of tools which can be responsible for contributing to noise levels at work include elastic yarn covering machine, chain saws and jack hammers, hammer mills, pneumatic drills, welding equipment, gas burners and sand burners, 40 ton press, bench grinders and finishers, hydraulic power packs, brick oven fans, cwc punch press, cold cutting and circular saws. Other tools include break pad grinders, braiders for electric cables and coaling pads. Cyclone separators, metal chutes and conveyors for the transfer of components, press fly wheels. Powder mills, powder blasters, reciprocating compressors, rubber granulators, and sugar beet processors, pneumatic transfer systems, notching presses, metal cutting guillotines and multi headed grinders. There are many more tools and equipment that when used at work may have caused industrial deafness.

In light of all the growing number of complainants coming forward from those who have been in employment resulting in industrial deafness the authorities have attempted to curb the issue and address it with relevant legislation to protect the employers from excessive damage to their hearing due to working conditions. One of the measures put in place is The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005. In addition a number of reforms have been bought about to curb noise levels in the work place. The Health and Safety Executive, HSE, have tried to step in and are trying to get the noise level reduced from an allowed 90dBs to 80dB with a cap of 87dBs. They suggest that there are around 1 million people who are currently at risk of suffering from industrial deafness due to the kind of work they do.

RULES AND REGULATIONS OF INDUSTRIAL DEAFNESS AND A BENCHMARK CASE

One recent case for industrial deafness has been branded a benchmark case an. Darren Smith of Hill Hofstetter said of the Baker Vs Quantum Clothing Group that it `will be a benchmark decision in the years to come’.

The case was heard at the Supreme Court who overturned an earlier decision made by the Court of Appeal. In all Baker had been exposed to high noise levels at work for over 10 years when he incurred industrial deafness. The case took on the face of a noise level debate, with an 85dB versus 90dB level theme. The case referred to The Noise at Work Regulations Act of 1989, which was implemented in 1990. The Court was presented with a case of 7 knitters who had become exposed to noise levels of 85dBs over a lengthy period of time.

The Baker case concluded with the Supreme Court upholding the original 2007 judgement that was made by the High Court in that they agreed that the Clothing Company was not liable for Baker’s

industrial deafness under common law or under The Factories Act of 1961. They held that Quantum were not liable for the damage to Baker as it was caused by noise levels of less than 90dBs and it was prior to 1978.

As Darren Hill said the case will become a benchmark decision for many and a basis for industrial deafness claims in the future. Danny Hill added his opinion, `if the Supreme Court had dismissed the appeal it would potentially have opened the floodgates for thousands of other claimants, particularly those with long working histories in the industrial, leisure and retail sectors.’

So the case concluded that there will be no liability placed on the employer who exposes its staff to decibels lower than 90 before the 1989 Act came into play, that was unless in circumstances where the employer had special knowledge of certain noise affects, which in case they would be liable under common law.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT INDUSTRIAL DEAFNESS CLAIMS

To begin your industrial deafness claim you must firstly get fully checked out by your GP and then a specialist who will assess your symptoms and conclude with a diagnosis of industrial deafness related damage to hearing. Once you have the relevant medical evidence you can take your grievance to a reputable claims specialist who are experienced with industrial deafness claims. Throughout your case you will need to provide all the documentation required of where you worked? How long you worked there? What hours you worked on what basis? This information will provide the decision makers with relevant insight into how long you were exposed to what noise levels.

Compensation paid out for any industrial deafness claim will depend on the severity of the damage to hearing and will be paid on its own merit.

A rough guide for any compensation paid out for industrial deafness is as follows

£4000-£7000- minor or occasional deafness

£8000-£15 000 – moderate hearing loss

£16 000-£29 000-serious hearing loss

£17 500-£29 000-complete hearing loss in one ear

£50 000-70 000-complete hearing loss in both ears

If you have suffered any form of hearing damage which is affecting your every- day life, be it minor, temporary and occasional or a major trauma and serious deafness  due to any form of employment that you over took over a long term basis then it would be wise to protect your rights and file an industrial deafness claim. Sometimes deafness, particularly when in an extreme form can over take your life or coerce you to redress your life choices and even completely change your life style so it is important that you find compensation for the damage the deafness causes to your ordinary life and that through an industrial deafness claim that you find some peace of mind in that the damage done to your hearing was not your own fault.

It is also crucial that for the sake of your personal finances that you able to furnish some financial compensation which will no doubt become useful if the deafness persists or becomes